THERE IS MORE SAID IN THE PODCAST AUDIO THAN IN THE NOTES BELOW
TEXT: Matthew 12:15-21:
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
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Charles Spurgeon said, “Thou hast been broken and rendered useless by sin, thou hast fallen from thy steadfastness; thou art not fit to be a pillar in the house of thy God, but only to be thrown on the dunghill like a broken bulrush; yet Jesus, when men reject thee, will receive thee, and when thy conscience reprobates thee, his love will not discard thee. Be of good cheer. He who affords his direst foes a thousand opportunities to repent will not in his fierce anger cast out those who crave mercy at his hands.
In our last message in this series, we looked at how Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and anointed by God in order to fulfil His task as the chosen Servant of God.
Fourth, look at the gentleness and compassion of Jesus. Matthew 12:19-20 says, “He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.” This part of our passage shows us the gentleness and compassion of Jesus in two ways. First, Jesus did not quarrel or cry out. This means that He did not get into strife with others in a manner that would have drawn undue attention. We already saw this in how Jesus withdrew when He found out that the pharisees were plotting to kill Him. This does not mean that Jesus kept complete silence. He preached the message and God and stood up and spoke out against evil. But He avoided unnecessary conflict until it served God’s purposes. Ray Fowler said, “Jesus cares for the helpless. Jesus cares for those the world can’t be bothered with or troubled over, those the world doesn’t pay any attention to. Jesus cares about all the hurting, all the failures, all the rejects, all the drop-outs, all the little people, all the weak links in the chain that everyone else sets aside. Jesus comes to all those who are bruised and battered by life. He comes to the spiritually broken. He comes to those so bruised by sin and all its effects that they are unable to stand up under it. He comes to all those whose flame is flickering, and he gives them hope. We are all bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. We have all been beaten and bruised and pushed back in so many ways in this life. We all know the heartsick of hope deferred and the heartbreak of hopes crushed. But Jesus cares for the helpless and hopeless. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. He is a gentle servant.” Puritan pastor Richard Sibbes wrote a book called The Bruised Reed that is based on Isaiah 42:3, the verse that Matthew quotes here about Jesus. In the book, Sibbes wrote, “Are you bruised? Be of good comfort, he calls you. Conceal not your wounds, open all before him and go to Christ. There is more mercy in him than sin in you.” We are all humans bruised and burnt by sin and the cares of this world. But we can find comfort in the gentle and compassionate Son and Servant of God, Jesus Christ. If you are hurting, come to Jesus, because He can heal you. He will lend His strength to those who are weary, His power to those who are weak, His joy to those who are sorrowful. Most importantly, He provides salvation to all who are dead in sin. Come to the son of God so that you can be saved.
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Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.
He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.
He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.
BCNN1 WP 